INFO BG - Centre of Public Employment Services of Southeast European Countries

	Country name: BULGARIA
	PES name: EPLOYMENT AGENCY (EA)

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the EA is to continue establishing itself as a public mediator on the labour market providing quality services in line with the expectations and needs of jobseekers and employers and in accordance with the new economic and social realities.

TASKS

Provision of higher and sustainable employment and integration on the labour market of the unemployed and inactive persons of working age, with a focus on long-term unemployed and young people up to 29 years of age, including NEETs;
Reduction of the imbalances between supply and demand of workforce and support for job creation in the real economy;
Protection and regulation of the labour market in the country;
Development of regional labour markets and improvement of employment services;
Improvement of social dialogue and effective partnership with national, European and international institutions in the field of employment and unemployment;
Modernizing the activity of the EA and strengthening its institutional capacity.

STRUCTURE, ORGANISATION LEVELS AND AUTONOMY

The administration of the EA is organized in 7 Directorates and 2 Directorates General, structured in General Administration and Specialized Administration, and “Internal Audit” Directorate which is directly subordinated to the Executive Director. The Information Security Official and the Financial Controllers are also directly subordinated to the Executive Director.

The Employment Services DG operates through:

„Regional Employment Service“ Directorates (9);
„Local Labour Office“ Directorates (107);
Branches - facilitating the provision of services to jobseekers and employers (146);
Remote workplaces – in difficult-to-reach settlements (621).

RELATION TO GOVERNMENT

The EA is an Executive Agency to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. At the national level, information is exchanged between the EA, the National Revenue Agency, the Executive Agency of the General Labour Inspectorate and other Ministries.

The EA implements its activities within the framework of the current legislation - Employment Promotion Act, and its Rules of Procedure, the Labour Mobility and Labour Migration Act and its Rules of Procedure, the Labour Code, the Social Security Code and other normative acts.

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

The EA is managed by an Executive Director, assisted by two Deputy Executive Directors. In its activities, the Executive Director of the Employment Agency is also assisted by the Council to the Executive Director, consisting of two representatives of the nationally represented organizations of employers and employees. The administrative management of the EA is performed by the Secretary General.

The 9 directors of directorates at the Central Administration of the EA are subordinated to the Deputy Executive Directors and the Secretary General according to their assigned areas of responsibility. The 9 directors of the Regional Employment Services and the 107 directors of the Local Labour Offices are subordinated to the Director General of the Employment Services DG.

ROLE OF SOCIAL PARTNERS

At the national level, the activities of the National Council for Employment Promotion, the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation and the Council to the Executive Director of the EA have a key role in developing policies and monitoring their implementation.

At the regional and local level, the work of the Cooperation Councils to each „Local labour office“ Directorate and the Employment Committees to each of the District Councils for Development, focuses on uncovering the potential of the local economy to increase job places and improve the quality of the workforce in the regions.